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The one cuff comes off, and Kyle looks at me. “We can get the other off at home, come on.”
“I promised Arseny I would stay here until the meeting was done. I need to keep my word,” I protest.
“He kidnapped you, Elena. He doesn’t get to take a promise like that from you. Now, it isn’t your decision. We’ve come to take you home. Father said no matter what happens, he wants you at the house.” Ethan grabs my arm roughly and starts dragging me off.
“You’re hurting me,” I complain. “Don’t be so rough.”
“Don’t act like you want to stay with a traitor,” Ethan growls, yanking me along.
“Jesus, Ethan, calm down,” I say. “It’s not like he’s been treating me badly. He’s been kind and nice to me. He hasn’t treated me like a prisoner at all.”
“So that makes it okay to kidnap you? Just treat you all right. Wait until Father hears this. No wonder he won’t take you seriously. Then you want to moan at me that you want a seat at the table.” I look at Kyle as Ethan berates me, and Kyle steps forward.
“She’s just explaining, Ethan. She didn’t say she wanted to stay, right Elena?” He asks.
“Right,” I say quietly.
Ethan lets me go as we reach the car. “Get in.”
I climb into the back, followed by Kyle and Ethan, who sit opposite me. Ethan knocks on the privacy window, and the car starts driving.
I sit back and look out the window. The city looks different now that I’ve been away in the wilderness for over a week. The city feels different now that I’m away from Arseny. I should feel safe being with my brothers, but I don’t. I don’t feel safe because Arseny doesn’t know where I am and can’t protect me.
I can never tell my father that, or he will put a hit out on Arseny’s life, and I could never live with myself if anything happened to him because of me. He’s been so good to me in so many ways. I think I’ve fallen for him, kind of. I don’t know if I’m willing to admit that yet.
The city is also so much noisier than the cabin. It was peaceful on the mountain, with no one around honking their horns or shouting at each other, and there was no pollution in the air: just Arseny and I for some distance.
Ethan is studying me, so I smile at him. “Thank you for coming to get me.”
“You’re welcome. For a moment, I thought you’d lost your mind.” He clears his throat and visibly relaxes now that I seem to be on board with him. He acts as though I’m going to leap out of the car and run back to Arseny willingly. I still, however, feel like I need to explain.
“Father always says to shoot straight. Business is upfront and honest as far as dealing with other families goes. I just wanted to keep my end of the bargain.”
“You weren’t willing to stay there, Elena. The promise didn’t mean anything,” Kyle says. “It wasn’t like he sat you there and let you willingly choose to remain. He locked you up there. Here, give me your other hand, and I’ll do the other cuff.”
I offer him my hand, and he starts picking the lock.
“I know what you mean. I was just explaining where I’m coming from.” I look at Ethan. “I would never do something to jeopardize our family.”
“I know,” he finally says after a long pause. “I know you wouldn’t. The important thing is that our guys spotted you when you hit up that motel, and we were able to track your moves to the warehouse and get you out of there.”
“So Arseny doesn’t know he’s negotiating with nothing on his side?” I ask.
Kyle and Ethan look at each other, and I frown.
“What? Did you guys ambush him?” I ask, slightly worried but trying to keep my voice calm.
“You best speak to Father, but don’t worry, no one’s going to ambush anyone. We don’t want a full-out war.” Kyle finishes picking the lock and takes the cuff off me.
“I’ll keep those,” I say. “Never know when they come in handy.”
I put them in my pocket, and we remain silent for the rest of the journey home.
We pull up to my family's mansion, and the guards let us through the gates.
Once the car stops, I get out ahead of Ethan and Kyle.
“Go see Father,” Ethan says. “He’ll be in his office. He’ll want to make sure you’re okay.”
